What rights do i have to keep my granson after he has lived here for 9 months following his mothers death.?

He has not seen his father for years, his father left the family home because he was violent to the 2 elder boys which my grandson wittnessed.Social services ask him weekly if he wants to live with his father, he says no & that he does not want to see him.Will they let him stay with us. He also lived with us 6 months last year & 7 months the year before owing to his mothers alcholisam. His sister lives with the father but only because he took her after the mothers death, social services have accepted this dispite the fact that she spends alot of time at her aunts .My granson has been in our lives on a regular basis since he was born owing to his mothers inability to look after him. He really wants to stay with us, i cant make social services out, he is very well looked after here, improved at school, haslots of friends. Will they take what he says into consideration

You will have to seek leagl help with this as you will need to apply to become his legal guardian.

Once this is done, then his fther will have no right to just take him away from you. He will have to go to the courts to try.

You haven't given his age, usually the older the child the more of a say he will have. I would have a solicitor at the ready in case you need to fight their decision.

if the services are working right they should always take the child's feelings into account... and the courts also have to do what is in the best interest of the child.

you should check with some one in the job or your child's social or key worker

Find an attorney for you, and one for your grandson, and ask them to help you take the legal action that is best for your grandson.

The father has more of a 'right' to the child, simply because of the fact that he is the father - grandparents don't have an automatic right, unfortunately. It sounds like something that has to go through the courts, where you put your case to a judge to become his legal guardian. Speak to the social workers and find out what you have to do - get in there first before the father acts.

You may find this link helpful. http://www.grandparents-association.org....
Have you taken advice about the possibility of special guardianship? It doesn't sound as though you have looked after him for long enough yet to qualify, but you could make it clear to social services that that is your ultimate aim. http://www.baaf.org.uk/info/lpp/special/...

Remember that "the interests of the child are paramount", in other words, whatever you, the father, or Social Services think, a judgement will always be given in the favour of the child's well-being and, with this in mind, the child's wishes.
This is why the Social Worker will keep asking the little boy what he would like to do.
I think you need a neutral party with whom to discuss this, and suggest you contact the Citizens Advice Bureau - they usually have volunteer Solicitors who give of their time to offer advice, which will probably be, as suggested, to apply for Legal Guardianship of your grandson, if that is what he wishes. You haven't given details of his age, so it is a little difficult to judge if he is capable of giving a valued judgement.
Taking into consideration everything you have said, I would think that this could be an uncontested action.

the violent father has no say in the matter ! and yeah they should see that the boys happy with you and let him live there ! how old is the boy ? are you from the uk ?

I get tired of hearing vindictive families rounding on fathers. Doesn't he get to tell his side or does he just have to accept all that everyone throws at him?

He is the father and only surviving parent. They should be with him and maintain contact with you. Also note in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland has a similar law) all unmarried fathers of children born since 2003 have "Parental Responsibility", making his rights equal to those of the mother. If they were never married, and he signed the birth register, he has this Parental Responsibilty automatically. For unmarried fathers of children born before that date he would have had to apply to a judge for a PR Order, and would most certainly have been given it. If the parents were married before the birth, or they married after and amended the register of births, this right is automatic. It means the father can quite rightly take his own children to live with him. Their choice should not matter, especially for younger children. Younger children need to be told, not asked.

If he has any problems he could always get an Interim Custody Order, temporarily awarding custody to him until a full hearing, where social services, teachers, family etc can attend and give their views. The father is not on trial for his past problems at this hearing, and nor should he be. It doesn't exactly sound like the mother was entirely lily white.

Unfortunantly you, a parent has the right to raise their own children. Grandparents have virtually no rights.

There is a very strong constitutional protected presumption that a parent has a right to raise his/her own child unless they are abusing the child.

However, if can have deemed to be unfit to be a parent, which is possible becuase of the violence, the state can take the children away from him.

That would not mean they would automatically go to you, but it is unlikely social services would place them in foster care instead of with the grandparents unless there is some problems in your household as well.

It is not a matter of what social services thinks is best or what is in the childs best interest. The rule of law is parents have a right to raise their own children as long as it is not abusive.

I don't agree with the standard because right now it is:

parent vs parent - best interst of child
non-parent vs. non-parent - best interest of child
parent vs non-parent - parent

Where are you located? Many states do allow grandparent's rights for visitation and even custody. It is up to the courts and not social services who the child stays with... if you are providing a caring and appropriate home you can subpoena social services to testify on your behalf in a custody hearing. Is there an upcoming custody hearing or something? Because you have been providing care for nearly a year, and half of last year and the year before, you do have a stake in the child as you have been acting in loco parentis for all this time. As someone providing the majority of the care for the child, you are able to file for custody. Anyone who provides the care for a child that a parent would normally provide when the parent is unwilling or unable has the right to file for custody of the child. You really should contact an attorney though, because custody hearings do get ugly and messy very quickly. Even legal services, who can help if you cannot pay. But since you have been providing the majority of care for an extended period of time (i.e. you have been the primary caregiver) you do have a good chance to get custody and you are within your rights to request it.

Consider colsulting with an adoption attorney.